The Masquerade
by Hinote Kitsune Nikore
Summary: Tao Ren, is turning 16. A masked ball will be held in the honour of his birthday. Yoh and the rest of the gang are invited. What will happen? Sorry people, I'm new at this and I have absolutely no idea how to make my stories the best ever.
1. Jun's plot

Hiya people!!! I'm back! This is only my second fic and my first try at a Shaman King one so please bear with me. Oh, and if it sucks, well....I really wouldn't be surprised since I got the idea at 12:00 midnight and I wrote down the rest at school in the little free time that I have. Anyway, I hope you like m story. Feel free to email me at: HinoteKitsuneNikore@hotmail.com. Pleeeeeeeeease, please, please, please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ "....." = talking '......' = thinking (AN:.......) = my little notes that I write in the middle of the story Summary: Well, basically, it's Ren's birthday, Jun invites Yoh and the gang, Anna has some personality problems, and the parings are: Ren x Pirika (my fave couple in Shaman King!!!!! They make such a kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiii couple!!!!) Yoh x Anna ~I don't know if I'm going to be putting in some others so you'll just see. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
It is Tao Ren's birthday. His family insisted on having a masked ball, in hope that he'll find a woman he's attracted to. They're inviting everyone, and I MEAN EVERYONE they know to this grand ball. Of course, they thought that a masked ball would be perfect because they wanted Ren to find a woman that was attractive inside. They couldn't very well have a snobbish princess, now, could they. Then again, it was Ren's choice.  
  
Jun knew that Ren won't even bother inviting anyone, so she took it upon herself to invite Ren's friends – Yoh, Anna, Ryu, Manta, Tamao, Horohoro, all the spirits, and of course, Pirika. Jun noticed the way her little brother acted towards the beautiful ainu girl – no, lady (AN: The gang grew. I forgot to tell you guys. All the girls are 15, all the guys except for Ryu are 16, Ryu is 25 and Jun is 20). Nobody noticed it but Jun. Heck, even Ren himself probably didn't notice it.  
  
Anyway, Jun sent the invitations right after she made them and remembered to make a mental note to bring the girls shopping for gowns, dresses, and other stuff they'll need for their little vacation in China. (AN: Are you guys confused? Okay, to those who are, I'll explain. Ren, Jun, and the rest of their family are currently in China. This is also where Ren's birthday party will be held. Yoh and the others are in Japan.)  
  
As for the masks, she'll still have to ask the girls if they waned to buy some ready-made ones, or if they want to have a professional make their masks for them, or if they want to make the masks themselves. And, she made sure to keep in mind to see what Pirika is going to get for her gown in the ball. She wants her to wear something different. Something that will get her little brother's attention. Why? Because she was determined to match make Ren and Pirika.  
  
She'll also have to ask for help from the others. No matter how confident she is that she'll do fine by herself, she didn't want to mess anything up. She was not going to take any chances. She WILL get Ren and Pirika together. And nothing will stop her.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% So? What do you think? I hope you guys review! I tried making a fanfiction once. I updated it on 2 sites and I got less than 10 reviews on both of them combined! *sigh* I guess I'm just no good at being an author..... 


	2. The Invitation

Hi!!!! A BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG THANK YOU TO stacyisnotmyname() and to Chiharu-chan for reviewing!!!! Here's the next chapter to "The Masquerade." I probably won't be updating for a while after this since I got in trouble. *sigh* I am sooooo dead.... Anyway, enjoy reading and pleeeeeeeeease review!!!!! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
  
"......" = talking ' ......' = thinking (AN:.....) = notes from meself %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
Yoh and the others got their invitations the next day. How it got there so quickly? No one will ever know. After all, the Tao family IS a very mysterious family. Yoh was just picking up the daily mail as Anna commanded.  
  
While running home, Yoh was leafing through the mail, all the while making sure he doesn't bump into someone or something. Just when he got to the front door, he found an invitation that was addressed to him and Anna. He opened the door and yelled: "Anna-chan!!!" Said person came walking around the corner and looked at Yoh in her usual half-lidded gaze.  
  
"What are you yelling for? The house isn't very big. I can hear you perfectly fine." She stated. Actually, the house was quite big but Yoh didn't DARE argue with THE Anna. Instead, he just rubbed the back of his head and smiled nervously. "Hehe....sorry Anna-chan. Anyway, I found an invitation that was addressed to us in the mail" he said. Anna raised an eyebrow. "Really? Let me see." She drawled.  
  
Yoh gave her the letter that had "Yoh and Anna" written on the envelope in very elegant writing. 'No doubt from the Tao family' she thought. "Wonder what Ren wants now...." She muttered. "Ren? How do you know it's from the Tao family? You haven't even opened it yet" Yoh asked.  
  
Anna looked at Yoh. If you knew her really well and if you looked close enough, you'll see slight bewilderment at how dense her fiancé can be. Instead of saying that out loud though, she just shook her head and replied: "I know everything...." she teased, unable to stop the slight smile one her face. Then she turned around, still clutching the invitation and walked away, leaving behind a stunned and worried Yoh.  
  
So? What do you guys think? Bad? Good? Too short? Pointless? Tell me! Please! Till next time! Ja! 


	3. Really happy author's note

I'm sorry to those people who though that this is a chapter. I'm just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, (I could go on forever about the "really" part) happy right now. I actually got reviews in this story. And so early in it, too! I wasn't expecting this many in two very short chapters.  
  
Which reminds me, I'm really sorry that my chapters are short. I have a lot to do and I don't have a lot of free time. When I wrote down the chapters, it looked pretty long on the notebook but when I uploaded it, it was very short.  
  
I currently have writer's block for the next chapters (don't we all get it?) but I have two pages full of what will happen to Ren and Pirika. Which is pretty good to me, since all that only happens in a short period of time.  
  
Anyway, I have a lot of ideas but not for what'll happen in the next chapters. Oh, and for all you die-hard Ren and Pirika fans, the fluff between them won't come really soon. Probably in the next few chapters or so. So, I thank ALL the reviewers.  
  
You guys have no idea how happy I am. Oh, and all your reviews inspire me to write a whole lot more chapters. So, once again, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	4. Anna's decision

Hello people!!!!!! Here's the next chapter! I was going to make this with some other people like Pirika or Tamao or HoroHoro but you guys wanted the next chapter so I didn't have time to make changes to this chapter. I'll see if I can make something else in the next little while. I thank all of the readers and especially the reviewers. You guys make me feel so special. Anyway, I'll cut my ramblings so you guys can read the chapter. Enjoy! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
  
"Well.....what does it say?" Yoh asked timidly, afraid of triggering Anna's anger. Anna  
  
secretly smiled to herself at her fiancé's kawaiiness (AN: Sorry for the An but is this  
  
even a word? ^_^;;;;;) but she hid it well. "Well it seems our dear Ren is celebrating his  
  
16th birthday. We're invited for a little vacation in China in the Tao mansion. I don't  
  
know how long though. It didn't say. The Tao family sent their private jet to pick us up  
  
tomorrow. So I suggest you start packing. I'll do the same thing" Anna said. "Alright! We  
  
get to go to China!!!!" Yoh stopped celebrating when he saw the look on Anna's face. He  
  
knew that look. "Yes Anna. I'll go start packing" he said quietly. Anna smiled. She tried  
  
to keep it back, but still, a ghost of a smile appeared on her face. Yoh could tell she was  
  
really excited even if she hid it very well.  
  
ANNA'S POV  
  
*sigh* Why do I even bother?! I know that he can see right through my façade. But I  
  
have been like this for as long as I can remember. Should I continue being like this?  
  
Or.....or maybe I should stop and change? Heh...I can just see their reactions  
  
when...no...IF I change. I'll think about it...Maybe...maybe I should....ask Yoh?  
  
Yeah....it's not what I would normally do and Yoh might be surprised...or maybe he  
  
won't? Whatever. I'll ask him later after I finish packing.  
  
~~~~~end of Anna's POV  
  
So after she finished packing, Anna stood up and knocked on Yoh's door. She heard a  
  
muffled 'Come in!' from Yoh. She hesitated for a second, then bit her lip in  
  
determination and opened the door. She saw Yoh bent over his bag, his lips tight and his  
  
tongue sticking from the side, obviously intent on finishing is packing so as not to anger  
  
her. Anna smiled slightly, and for a second, she faltered and wondered, for about the  
  
millionth time that day, if she really should go through with this. But the same icy  
  
determination shone in her eyes as she walked to Yoh's bed. Yoh, surprised, yet relieved  
  
at the same time that Anna came in quietly and didn't yell at him, looked up at her,  
  
confusion, relief, and surprise dancing in his eyes. Anna smiled. Nothing held back. Her  
  
first visible genuine smile. Yoh's jaw dropped. His elbows, which he was using to prop  
  
himself up so that he could look at Anna faltered and he dropped to the floor. This  
  
shook him out of his stupor. He stood up, brushed off his clothes, and looked back up  
  
at Anna slowly, his eyes as wide as saucers. He couldn't believe that Anna actually  
  
wanted him to see her smile!  
  
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I hope you guys are still with me here. I have to make the next chapter. I need to put the others in here. Everything's revolving around Yoh & Anna so I gotta change that. I hope you guys review cause, as I said, your reviews make me feel so special and it inspires me to make the next chapters. Ja! 


	5. More invitations

Hello peeps! Sorry I haven't update for a long time. You see, I had projects, FSA, and a whole lot of other things to think of so yeah. I hope you forgive me. I think this is going to be a fairly short chapter since I'm not really very good at writing long ones. I'm better at writing short one-shots. Anywayz, enough of my blabbering. Here ya go!  
  
**HoroHoro and Pirika's place (In Horo's POV)**  
  
"Oi!!! Imoutoooooooooo!!!!!!!! Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail!!!!!!!!!!" HoroHoro  
  
yelled. "Are you sure it's addressed to ME?!" shouted Pirika. "Well, actually, it's  
  
addressed to both of us but I'm too lazy to read it" came a voice from the doorway.  
  
Pirika rolled her eyes. "Figures. I should've known." She muttered. "Fine. Whatever.  
  
Gimme it." Horo grinned. "That's better." He said. Pirika rolled her eyes again and  
  
grabbed the letter from her brother's hands. She flopped on the bed, briefly read the  
  
writing on the envelope that said: To HoroHoro and Pirika, from the Tao family. At first,  
  
she was confused and she thought: 'Why would they send us a letter?' unaware that her  
  
face was a little red. She shook her head, ripped the letter open, and ran her eyes over the  
  
letter that was written in beautiful handwriting.  
  
Horo watched her, amused at the constantly changing emotions  
  
flickering in his little sister's eyes. Everybody may think that he's insensitive and stupid.  
  
No. They're all wrong. He knows that his little sister likes and probably even loves Ren  
  
Tao. He fights with Ren just to make sure that he can protect her just in case something  
  
happens. Pirika is his only little sister and the only family member he has close-by. It's  
  
natural to be overprotective. Although, he IS completely willing to let her go-if she was  
  
happy. Of course, he'll still be the one who'll strangle anybody who hurts his sister in  
  
ANY way. No matter whom that person is. Even if it was Ryu, or Manta, Yoh, Hao,  
  
Jeanne, Lyserg, himself, heck, even Anna! It won't matter. The only thing he'll think of  
  
is that somebody hurt his beloved little sister, and they're going to pay for it. NOTHING  
  
will stand in his way.  
  
"So what does it say?" he finally asked. "Hm? Oh, well, Ren-kun's celebrating his  
  
sixteenth birthday so his family is inviting us for a little vacation in their mansion. It says  
  
here that Ren-kun's birthday party is going to be formal. It also says that the Tao family  
  
will pay for the clothes and other stuff we need for our stay there. So basically, all we  
  
have to pack are unmentionables (AN: My friend told me this word and I thought it was  
  
funny so I put it in!), journals if you need one, stuffed animals if you want, toothbrush,  
  
and some other things. Oh yeah. And the Tao family's personal jet is coming to pick us  
  
up tomorrow so we don't have to worry about transportation." Pirika answered. "Okay,  
  
then, you'd better start packin' lil' sis." Horo said before he walked away.  
  
**Tamao's place**  
  
Tamao had a vision last night. She saw herself jumping up and down beside her  
  
side table. She thought it was nothing bad so she climbed into bed and fell asleep. It was,  
  
after all, pretty late. The next morning, her cottony-pink yes slowly opened. She did her  
  
morning routines and walked to her bedside table. She noticed a pretty envelope on it that  
  
had: To Tamamura, Tamao, from The Tao family on the front. She suddenly had a  
  
flashback of her vision and her eyebrow rose. "Gee, I wonder what made me so  
  
happy?" She shrugged. She opened the letter and read it slowly, and after a while, her  
  
eyes widened and she jumped up and down. "So this is what I was so happy about!  
  
giggle Yeah! Oh wow! I get to go to China!!" She stopped jumping and thought: 'I  
  
wonder what I should get for Tao-san? Hm......I'' have to think about that. And from  
  
there she started packing her stuff, all the while humming.

**The place where Ryu and his gang were currently staying at**  
  
"Hey boss! There's mail for us!" Ballboy yelled. Ryu came walking around the  
  
corner slowly. "Who is it from? Give it to me." He said. His eyes quickly scanned the  
  
letter that was written in very elegant writing. When he finished, he put down the letter,  
  
tipped his chin up, closed his eyes and sniffed, wanting his companions to be anxious. He  
  
stayed like that for a couple of seconds, then smirked and said: "Well boys, pack some of  
  
your things. We're going to China." He readied himself for the upcoming noise. The  
  
gang's eyes widened, they looked at each other with their mouths in big smiles that  
  
looked as if it would crack their faces, and cheered. Loud. "YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE'RE  
  
GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Just before the gang packed their stuff and got ready for  
  
the trip the next day, Blue Chateau had a question, and decided to voice it out loud. "Hey  
  
boss, why exactly are we going to China?" At this, the rest of the gang stopped what they  
  
were doing. Ryu smiled and said: "Good question, Blue Chateau. You see, Master Ren is  
  
having his sixteenth birthday party and his family is inviting us all for a vacation there.  
  
It's formal so we all have to be on our best behaviors. Oh, and don't worry about money  
  
for the clothes and stuff. They're gonna pay for it. So I suggest you all get to bed early so  
  
we don't get late tomorrow. Goodnight boys!" At this, Ren turned around and went to  
  
bed. The others followed his lead.  
  
So what do you guys think? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease review or email me! Thankies!!!!!!!! Oh. And if anyone is confused about something, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer you. Thank you for reading!!!


	6. Just some other stuff

I'm sorry to those people who though that this is a chapter. I'm just REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, (I could go on forever about the "really" part) happy right now. I actually got reviews in this story. And so early in it, too! I wasn't expecting this many in two very short chapters.  
  
Which reminds me, I'm really sorry that my chapters are short. I have a lot to do and I don't have a lot of free time. When I wrote down the chapters, it looked pretty long on the notebook but when I uploaded it, it was very short.  
  
I currently have writer's block for the next chapters (don't we all get it?) but I have two pages full of what will happen to Ren and Pirika. Which is pretty good to me, since all that only happens in a short period of time.  
  
Anyway, I have a lot of ideas but not for what'll happen in the next chapters. Oh, and for all you die-hard Ren and Pirika fans, the fluff between them won't come really soon. Probably in the next few chapters or so. So, I thank ALL the reviewers.  
  
You guys have no idea how happy I am. Oh, and all your reviews inspire me to write a whole lot more chapters. So, once again, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	7. China, here we come!

Hi guys! I'm back! Okay, I know every other author out there always says you're reviews have made me so happy and have pushed me to write more! But seriously, it's true. Anyway, today's my birthday!! So, consider this like my birthday gift (even if I'm the one who's having her birthday), and you're reviews could be your birthday gift to me! :::hint, nudge::: Anyway, enough of my blabbering. Oh, and the party's still not here. Sorry! Maybe on the next chapter.

Oh, and I just noticed I haven't been making a disclaimer. Sorry! Me no own SK or any of its characters.

* * *

Jun, with the air of elegance that never seems to leave her, walked calmly to the Tao training grounds, looking for her beloved little brother. Sure enough, Ren was there training without a shirt on. (AN: Okay, you can stop drooling now. :::laughs::: )

She looked around, spotted a small table with a tea set, walked over to it, poured herself a cup of tea, and watched for some time. She knew that he wouldn't stop training anytime soon so she took out the book she brought along with her. When she finished the book, which might I add, had about 3,000 pages in it did Ren finally take a break and walked over to sit down across his sister.

Jun put down the book and looked at Ren. Ren stared back, clearly wanting an answer. After all, Jun knows that he doesn't want to be disturbed especially when he's training.

"You do remember the masquerade ball that's coming soon, right?" she asked even if she already knew the answer. "Hn. (AN: I just HAD to borrow Hiei's infamous quote!) What about it?" he replied drinking tea that his sister poured for him.

"Well, you know that Yoh and the gang are coming tomorrow and-" Jun started, only to be cut off by Ren. "Why? There is no need for this ball. It's a waste of precious time that I can be using to train instead. Besides, I never asked for it anyway. It's pointless." And with that, Ren took the last sip from his tea, seemingly thinking that the discussion has ended and he has won.

Unfortunately for him, Jun was a Tao too. One of the qualities she shared with her little brother was stubbornness. Plus she's older and knows a lot of things that even Ren himself doesn't know.

She was not about to give up. After all, she swore that she would get Ren and Pirika together no matter what. Not even her precious little brother will stop her.

So she went on. "We all know you didn't ask for this, Ren. But this is one of those things that you don't have a say in." she told him calmly. She ignored the fact that Ren was glaring at her and kept going.

"We know that you take your training seriously, which is good. But everyone needs to take a break and let loose once in a while. That includes you, Ren." Ren opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Jun glared at him.

It was a glare that struck fear in the young warrior's heart, therefore effectively shutting him up. "You WILL go through with this, Ren, whether you like it or not. I am your older sister, and I'm telling you to do this." Jun said in a no-nonsense tone.

Ren sent back a glare that will normally make the victim paralyzed with fear. Unfortunately for him though, Jun is his older sister and was not affected by it. "I don't care, dear sister. I refuse to go to this ridiculous party." Ren said huffily, standing up and almost making the chair he was sitting on tip over.

Jun, however, did not falter nor flinch. She simply closed her eyes, took a sip of her nearly finished tea, successfully making Ren even angrier without even trying. "Sit down, Ren. Like I said, you do not have a say in this. You WILL go to the ball and everything else that's been planned for you, no matter what, even if I have to resort to blackmail."

Ren, having had more than one encounter with one of Jun's plans where she did resort to blackmail, was stunned for a few seconds. He then snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes at his beloved sister. "You wouldn't." he said, trying to convince himself more than his sister.

"I would." Jun replied. And with that, she drank the last bit of her tea, knowing this argument was over, while Ren seethed quietly, partly because he knew he'd never win against his sister.

**_with Yoh and Anna_**

Yoh was very surprised. Anna's just not the kind of person who smiles a lot and shows emotion (other than anger) purposely and visibly. He jumped up and frantically ran to Anna.

He put one hand to her forehead and one on his own, muttering things that Anna couldn't quite make out (AN: Hehehe...make out..hehehe.... :::gets pelted with stuff::: Ow! Okay, okay! Jeez. Sorrrrrrrrrrry!) She was surprised at the sudden action and a look of surprise was pasted on her face.

This just made Yoh even MORE worried. Ann didn't know if she should be angry that Yoh didn't think she could be anything but angry or bossy or if she should be happy and smile because Yoh was concerned for her or if she should giggle at Yoh's kawaiiness (AN: I know it's not a word. So sue me! Wait!! I didn't mean it literally!), so she just looked at Yoh, confused.

Yoh noticed and was still worried because she was showing emotions again, but he smiled at her nevertheless. "Please don't be mad, Anna. You just don't usually show emotions. Don't get me wrong. I'm ECSTATIC that you're finally showing emotions. It's just that it's such a sudden change that I thought it might've been a side-effect from an illness you have that nobody but you knows since you're not the kind of person to show emotions and all..." he explained to the still-confused itako.

'So....does this mean Yoh wants me to show my emotions? Should I? What about my reputation with the others? They won't listen to me anymore if I change. Plus my sensei told me before that emotions are signs of weakness. I cannot just ignore her. She's my sensei. She's what made me a powerful itako! :::sigh::: This is just too confusing. I'll wait for a while. And I still have to ask Yoh, even if he did sound like he wanted me to let them out. I have to tell him everything. Yeah...maybe he can help.' Anna thought.

Yoh didn't know if he should be worried or not. 'Anna was pretty quiet....but Anna's always been quiet. So I shouldn't worry...right? But the Anna I'm seeing today didn't seem like the kind of person to keep things bottled up. Argh! This is confusing. But she's Anna. She's always been so unpredictable. I'll wait for her.' Yoh thought to himself.

Anna looked up at Yoh to find him still looking at her. She closed her eyes, then opened them a minute later and directed them at Yoh. "I...I...Yoh..." she started. Yoh was surprised that Anna looked confused and was stuttering. But he knew that she wanted to tell him something.

He didn't want to pressure her though. So he said: "Anna..." At this Anna turned to Yoh with a hint of anger one her face because Yoh cut her off, but listened to what he had to say anyway. Yoh caught the anger and sweatdropped. "Aaah...sorry for interrupting you...but I just wanted to tell you something."

And with that, Yoh kneeled in front of Anna and put his hands on her shoulders firmly but gently. "Anna, I'm your fiancée. I'm your friend! You can tell me anything. You don't have to think twice about it. But I'll understand if you wanted your privacy and didn't want to tell me. I won't force you to, alright?" he smiled and kissed her on her forehead, not noticing Anna's heavily blushing face.

Then he sat on the bed next to her and to him. So now Anna's back was pressed to his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist and his chin was resting on her head. (AN: Did you guys think that Yoh was going to ask Anna to marry him right away? Ehehehe....:::gets pelted with UFDOFAR-Unidentified flying dangerous objects from angry readers/reviewers. Okay! Okay! I get the point! Yeesh...)

Anna was surprised at first but relaxed quickly and put her arms on top of Yoh's and leaned back against his finely exercised body, thanks to her rigorous training. Yoh was too happy to be confused so he buried his nose in her hair and smiled. "Thanks Yoh." she whispered.

"No prob. Now...what were you saying before?" "Hm?" Anna opened her eyes sleepily. She didn't even notice she was falling asleep. Yoh chuckled. "We'll talk about this another time, okay koi? Even the great Kyouyama, Anna needs her rest." he teased.

Anna chuckled lightly and hit Yoh playfully. "Fine. I'll sleep." So she stood up and did her nightly routines with Yoh – you know. Changing, (AN: GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!), brushing, etc. When they were done, Yoh asked Anna to sleep with him, (AN: Geez. Anything I write turns out sounding dirty!) and Anna happily agreed.

So they both went to bed with their legs tangled, Yoh's arms around Anna's waist protectively, pulling her to him firmly yet gently, Anna's head leaned against Yoh's chest and her hands curled up in small child-like fists, pressing onto Yoh's chest.

She never explained her situation with Yoh, but she didn't care right now. She showed emotions today for the first time in who knows how long, and it felt great. There's lots of time to decide, but right now, she was warm, snuggled up comfortably, and protected in her beloved prince's arms.

And she's contented with that for now. She felt Yoh kiss her forehead, smiled, and snuggled even closer, feeling his arms press around her even tighter.

"Goodnight, Anna." Yoh whispered. "Goodnight.........................koi...." Anna whispered back and pecked Yoh on the nose then cuddled back in his arms, falling asleep right away.

Yoh was so surprised that he just kinda stayed there in shock for a bout five minutes. Then he smiled dreamily and looked down at Anna. He kissed her forehead, snuggled a little, and fell asleep right away.

**_Next day, still with Yoh and Anna_**

Anna woke up, yawned, stretched, you know. The usual. She looked beside her and smiled. Yoh was still there, sleeping peacefully. His breathing was even and his arms were still wrapped around her protectively.

She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead. She looked back at his face, and was slightly shocked seeing Yoh with a big smile on his face, his eyes wide open and looking directly at her. "Well, if that's how you're gonna wake me up every morning, we gotta do this more often!" he grinned.

Then he leaned down and Anna's heartbeat quickened by about 100 times. She put her hands on Yoh's chest. Just when she could feel his hot breath on her lips, did Yoh pause. Less than an inch away! He tightened his grip around her and pulled her even closer.

"May I?" he whispered. Anna, who's eyes were fixed on Yoh's lips, closed the small, teeny tiny gap between them as an answer. Her hands slip up and wrapped around Yoh's neck, while Yoh tightened his grip on her hips and pulled her even closer - if that was even possible.

They shared a wonderful kiss. It was soft and gentle, yet loving and passionate at the same time. Who knows how long they stayed like that. They finally broke off after quite some time then smiled at each other. "Wow" was all Anna could say. Yoh just grinned at her.

"Come on. We've gotta get ready. We're going to China today, remember?" Anna told him. Yoh grinned and his eyes were brightened with that childish light once again. "Oh yeah!" he said, literally jumping off the bed, nearly making Anna fall off.

"Woo hoo! China, here we come!" he said, jumping up and down like a child. Anna just smiled and stayed quiet. Yoh ran out, probably heading to the bathroom. After a minute or so, he came back, poked his head around the doorframe wearing a goofy, teasing smile he was trying to hide but failing miserably.

"Hey, Anna," he called, catching her attention. "I'm gonna go take a bath. Care to join me?" he grinned and quickly tried to move away, knowing Anna's temper. Apparently, he didn't move quickly enough. A pillow hit him right in the face.

It slid down to the floor and Yoh saw a very red-faced Anna on the bed with a vein on her head, twitching and trying to contain her anger. Yoh laughed and put his hands in front of him defensively. I was just kidding, Anna!" he sweatdropped.

Anna twitched once more and Yoh took that as a cue to leave. "Well...uh...I....um...gottagobye!" and ran off quickly to get ready for the trip. Anna merely smild and shook her head.

**_With Ren and Jun a little later in the day_**

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Ren glared at his sister. Jun merely smiled. "Well the plane's ready. You had better go. And please try to be decent, at the very least." She pleaded. Ren glared at her once again and got on the plane, waiting for it to get to Japan.

**_With Tamao_**

Tamao was in her room skipping, twirling, dancing, giggling, and just making some last minute packing, adjustments, planning, etc. She giggled once again. "Ooh! I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun! I wonder who else is going to be there. Well, knowing Ren-sama's family, I'm sure there'll be lots of people there."

**_With Ryu and the Dead-Enders_**

"So, everyone ready?" Ryu asked with Tokageroh floating close by him, looking bored and anxious at the same time. Answers of: "Yes, boss," "Yes sir!" "Aye, aye" and various others were heard. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ryu shouted happily. "Yeah!!!" And with that, they took off to the airport.

**_Yoh and Anna_**

Anna was waiting near the front door with all her stuff and Amidamaru. "Yoh! What's taking you so long?!" she shouted. Pounding footsteps were heard from upstairs. "Just a minute!!!" Yoh yelled back. "Hurry up!" Anna yelled somewhat impatiently. Amidamaru appeared. "I hope we don't miss the flight. Anna just looked at him. "We won't. We're early, actually." Yoh stumbled on the stairs, quickly trying to get down. "Ready!" he panted. "Let's go then." said Anna. They took their stuff, locked the door, etc., and then were on their way to the airport.

**_HoroHoro and Pirika_**

"Nii-channnnnnnnn!!!!!!!! What are you doing?!" an impatient Pirika yelled. Kororo, who was standing beside her, jumped, startled. Pirika looked down at it (AN: Sorry! I dunno if Kororo's a guy/girl.:::blushes embarrassedly:::). "Oh sorry..." she apologized. Kororo just smiled at her to let her know it was alright.

Then, a: "Hold your horses, lil' sis!" was heard. "Well hurry up, then! You're gonna make us miss the flight!" Pirika shouted even louder. "Alright, already! I just need to get some stuff!" Horo yelled. Quick footsteps were then heard and a panting Horo appeared. Pirika glared at him. "About time. Come on. We've gotta go." Pirika then started for the airport as the other two followed her.

**_Airport_**

Everyone was already there, waiting for the plane to arrive. Anna was sitting quietly looking at everything she can and drinking some tea they bought earlier. Yoh was sitting beside her, drinking some pop and had an arm wrapped around Anna's shoulder. Everybody noticed, but didn't say anything – either in fear of what Anna would do, or just enjoying the new Anna.

Pirika was sitting down and playing with Kororo, Tamao was sitting beside her, either talking to Pirika, playing with Kororo, or talking to HoroHoro who was sitting beside her drinking some pop. Now, whenever she would talk to Horo, there'd always be a permanent blush on both of their faces.

Only Pirika noticed, but she didn't do anything. She just giggled and thought of ways she could get them together. Manta was sitting beside Anna, reading a book, Ryu and his gang was sitting across from everyone else, and Amidamaru and Tokageroh were floating in the air, talking to each other.

Not long after, the PA turned on and announced that Yoh and the others were supposed to go to the nearest booth..thingy..(AN: Sorry! I've only been to an airport once! Well, twice if you count the airport where we landed.) Once there, the woman gave them instructions on where to go, when, went over some rules, blah, blah, blah.

Half an hour later, the gang went to gate number 18514. (AN: If you write down the alphabet and number from 1-26, the letter R will turn out to be the 18th one, E will be the 5th, and N is the 14th. Thus, 18, 5, and 14.) Once they were in the plane, everyone said their greeting and such to Ren, which he acknowledged with a small "hn.."

He then turned to the window and put his chin on his palm, his elbow resting on the armrest. Since everyone was used to this, they thought nothing of it and went to find seats they found to their liking. Yoh and Anna were sitting beside each other and so were Faust and Eliza, Lyserg and Jeanne, Ren and Pirika

(AN: She probably wanted to know if she could get him to talk even a little or something), Ryu and Chocolove (AN: No, they're not gay. I just needed them to sit somewhere.) and Manta was in the pilot's....uh...place thingy..he wanted to study what they're doing. The Dead-enders just picked out whatever seat was left.

They basically just did whatever they wanted and were allowed to throughout the whole plane ride. Pirika tried talking to Ren but he just ignored her. Her patience was wearing thin, but she continued. Sometimes, she'd just try and annoy the heck outta him. Yoh and Anna were in each other's embrace, sleeping the whole plane ride.

HoroHoro was making Tamao laugh, and at one point, they both fell asleep – Tamao's head was on Horo's shoulder, Horo's head was tilted to the other side, and his arm was around her shoulder. Chocolove was trying to make Ryu and some of the Dead-Enders laugh, Amidamaru, Tokageroh, Bason and sometimes

Kororo were talking and laughing, Lyserg and Jeanne were engaged in a polite conversation and also fell asleep with Jeanne's head on Lyserg's lap, and his arm wrapped around her. Faust and Eliza were cuddling and sweet-talking erm..whispering..to each other and looking out the window sometimes, and Pirika was either playing with Kororo or still trying to persuade Ren to talk to her.

Finally he did, (and almost startled Pirika into speechlessness) remembering his sister's begging, and somewhat surprisingly, Ren was actually talking more than he usually does. Ren even cracked some small half-smiles once in a while. Pirika noticed, but decided not to let Ren know, just in case he puts his guards back up and stop talking again.

Inside, though, she was grinning madly, giving herself pats on the back, and jumping for joy at this unexpected turn of events. So she just pretended nothing happened and continued on. Ren, apparently, knew exactly what he did. He wanted to see what Pirika would do.

He was glad she didn't overreact and stuff like that. Although, he wasn't thinking about it for very long. The both of them were having so much fun that they completely forgot about what just happened.....for now. At some point, they too fell asleep. Pirika was lying on Ren's chest with her mouth slightly open in a smile, her breathing calm and even.

Ren was smiling, but you wouldn't know that unless you looked closely. He had on arm wrapped protectively around her waist, and the other was supporting her and making sure she didn't fall. His nose was buried in her hair breathing in it's flowery scent unconsciously. It was obvious that at the end of the plane ride, a lot of things have changed.

When they got off at the Tao family's private airport, well...I'm sure you know who was walking beside who to the mansion. Some are holding hands, some are not, some are walking awfully close, and...well, you get the idea. When they got to the mansion, Jun and Ran welcomed them. They all went to a certain room and Jun explained some things.

Apparently, a lot of the rooms are being...renovated..so to say. So, everyone, including Ren, has to be partnered up with a person and they'd have to share the same room...

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READ ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What did you guys think about the "_renovating_"? :::hint:::

And this is where I end it. :::grin::: Hehehe...I'm sorry for the wait! This was supposed to be up last Saturday because it was my birthday and...well...yeah. But, as you can see, this chapter was meant to be long, and, because it was veeeeeery late, I decided to make it even longer! Sorry if it's sort of a cliffy. But I thought that was a good place to end it. Oh, and I know that on my author note at the start of the chapter it said "today is my birthday" but no. My birthday was on the 7th. So...yeah...review please! Be happy with the extra long chapter! And feel free to email me for any reason. Bye now!


	8. Renovations!

Disclaimer: Me no own SK and/or its characters.

Author's note: Woah….this took a long time to get finished. Bad lazy person! smacks self on head Ow…ehehehe….anyway…please don't be mad! The important thing is that I updated, right? Right! Well anyway, on to the story. Oh yeah, and this is focused mostly on the couples, mainly Ren and Pirika probably, so yeah. If I ignore the other characters, I apologize. I also apologize for the OOC-ness of some of the characters.

Legend:

"……." – talking

'…….' – thinking

:…….: - actions

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Tamao turned red as a tomato, HoroHoro was thinking about food as usual, Yoh pulled Anna closer to him with the usual grin on his face, Anna glanced up at him then looked back towards Jun with her usual emotionless face and the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks,

Jeanne and Lyserg merely kept polite expressions on their faces, Pirika blinked and had a somewhat confused face on, and Ren turned redder than Tamao. From anger, embarrassment or something else, nobody knows.

"WHAT!" was heard throughout the entire mansion. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN _RENOVATING_! WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THIS!" who else, but Ren yelled.

":sigh: Dear brother, is it always necessary for you to yell? Yes, renovating. You weren't informed because we only started today," Jun replied.

Ren narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Why _now_ of all times:pauses and narrows eyes at Jun: What are you plotting, Jun?" Jun just looked innocently at him.

"Whatever are you talking about? Mother decided the mansion was due for a renovation. If you have any comments, well…it's up to you to decide if you want to talk to mother." Jun said smirking as Ren paled.

"Um…nevermind," he said, fear evident in his eyes, surprising everyone but Jun. It was Pirika who chose to voice the question that was on the gang's minds.

"Um…if I may be so bold. Is…is there something we should…um…know…about your mother?" she asked timidly, making Jun laugh. "Oh no! It's just that she enjoys plotting about Ren's life," she giggled.

Pirika blinked. "Oh. I see," she said, looking at the siblings warily. "Hehehe...oh! Why hello, mother!"

Everyone turned to see a beautiful woman who looked around she was at her 30s donning a gorgeous made of crimson silk. She walked gracefully to the group with a small smile on her face.

"Hello everyone. It's so nice to see you all. I know Ren would hate it if I embarrassed him in front of everyone so I'll just tell you who gets to share rooms with whom."

Horo cut in and said "Ha! No please! Tell us! We'd absolutely love to know what embarrassments Ren got himself into!" he snickered as Ren glared at him.

"Why you….." Ren said threateningly, his eyes glowing with rage. "That's enough, you two. I have planned the partners and the rooms you're going to get. I've had your rooms customized, and I hope you all find them to your liking. If you find there's something missing, just tell Jun or I and we'll see what we can do," she announced.

The group nodded and Tamao bowed. "Thank you Mrs. Tao, but you've already done enough. I'm sure we'll find our rooms to be more than what we need," she said smiling.

Ren's mother smiled at her and said "Thank you dear. It's really not a problem. As long as you all have fun and enjoy yourselves. So let's see.

Tamao, you'll be sharing room 820 with HoroHoro, Yoh, you'll be paired with Anna in room 251. Jeanne dear, I hope you don't mind sharing room 1210 with Lyserg. Manta and Ryu, you'll be in room 1318.

As for Chocolove and the DeadEnders, you can divide yourselves into groups of 2-4 and pick the rooms available that suit your tastes, and Ren, you will be sharing room 1816 with Pirika.

Each of the couples turned their shades of pink/red. Manta sighed, thinking: 'At least I didn't get paired with Chocolove. I pity anyone that gets stuck with him and his jokes. :shudders:'

Ryu walked towards Manta and they set off in search of their room, Chocolove and the DeadEnders were bustling around, excited, and Ren's mother smiled.

"If you need anything, the workers will we glad to help. You're welcome to explore, as long as you make sure to stay out of the renovators' way. You'll find your stuff in your rooms, except for Chocolove and the DeadEnders. Yours are right out there; the workers will gladly carry them to your choice of rooms.

Now, the spirits are allowed to wander freely, and Bason can show you where you can stay to rest, train, and entertain yourselves. I have work to do, so I'll see you all around." With that she walked off quickly and elegantly, Jun following close behind her.

Chocolove and the DeadEnders walked to the rooms to look for the ones that they liked, leaving the couples in the parlor. (AN: I know…I didn't tell you guys what room they were initially in, but I didn't think I'd have to actually name it. Sorry!)

So basically, everyone found their rooms…eventually, and after admiring the rooms, they unpacked and went off to do their own things. Y'know, the usual. They went exploring, took naps, talk, enjoy the rooms some more, plan who sleeps where, etc., nothing particularly interesting. Ren was the only one not impressed, but that's to be expected.

**Jeanne and Lyserg**

"Shall we, milady?" Lyserg asked Jeanne, offering his arm. Jeanne smiled and placed her hand tentatively on his arm. "We shall, gallant sir."

Lyserg and Jeanne were engaged in a polite conversation all the way to their room, seeming to get closer and closer. After taking a good look at their room, Lyserg, being the gentleman he is, offered to sleep on the couch so Jeanne could sleep on the bed.

Jeanne frowned and insisted that he shouldn't have to give up the bed for her, so Lyserg suggested they both sleep on the bed – he wasn't being a pervert, just being nice. "Don't worry, milady, I promise I won't try anything funny," Lyserg said sincerely.

"Don't worry, chivalrous sir. I trust you to be the last person who would do anything funny, as you say," Jeanne said giggling. "Please, call me Lyserg. I'm afraid I feel I don't live up to the names you call me."

"Oh but you do…Lyserg. I insist you call me Jeanne however, since you insist I call you by your first name. Deal?" she asked, sticking out a pale, delicate hand.

"Deal," Lyserg agreed, taking her hand in his and hesitating for just a moment before gently pulling her towards him into a warm hug and closing his eyes, ignoring the evident red on his face.

"You must learn to be freer. Such formality is not necessary around me," he breathed into her ear. Jeanne, whose face was a cute shade of red and ruby eyes widened in shock, relaxed slowly after his comment and slowly closed her eyes, leaning into the embrace and wrapping her arms around Lyserg, curling his hands into cute balls.

A smile graced both of their faces; the silence was precious. Words were not necessary at this point in time, and both merely enjoyed the closeness of the other.

**HoroHoro and Tamao**

"Come on, Tamao! Let's check out our room!" Horo yelled excitedly, grabbing Tamao's hand and dashing out the door. Tamao turned pink and said "O-okay, but…do you know where you're heading?"

At this Horo paused suddenly and blinked. "Come to think of it, no. Ehehehe…." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Tamao grinned.

"That's what I thought. Here, let's look at the map," she said, taking out a map she picked up before leaving the room they were initially in and led them the right way. HoroHoro and Tamao were walking next to each other.

Horo was being his normal, goofy self, albeit he was clumsier than usual, and Tamao was giggling cutely at him.

--------At Horo and Tamao's room

:stares in wonder: "Woah! Check out this room!" Horo said, almost breathlessly. Tamao merely stood with her mouth agape, until her eyes landed on a large gourmet kitchen. Her eyes immediately brightened and filled with stars.

She clasped her hands together, staring at it dreamily before giggling madly and skipping off towards it, opening all the cupboards, drawers, refrigerators and freezers, taking out all the ingredients she wanted, and also the utensils she needed and placing them on the black granite countertop then started cooking, humming a cheery tune and forgetting everything around her but her cooking.

Horo, who was still at the door, blinked as he saw her move around, then smiled warmly and slowly and quietly walked to the kitchen, keeping his gaze on her.

After a while, Tamao felt eyes on her and turned around to find Horo leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a slight smirk on his face, watching her.

She turned 20 shades of red and started stuttering, forgetting about her cooking until it reminded her by burning her finger. She yelped and turned back to the pan and turned it off quickly.

Horo frowned and bounded to her quickly. "Tamao! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, carefully bringing up her finger into view. "Y-yeah…I think so." She said, blushing.

Horo examined her finger thoroughly to make sure it wasn't wounded, then kissed it and smiled at a now redder-than-the-reddest-tomato-ever Tamao. "There! All better!" Horo said cheerfully. "Uh…um…yeah…thanks…um…h-how about we grab a….um…a bite?" she responded timidly. Horo brightened immediately.

"Yay! Food!" he yelled excitedly, quickly taking some of the dishes to the table, humming a happy tune. Tamao just stood there staring at him for a while, dumbfounded, then shook her head vigorously and took the rest of the dishes to the table to eat with Horo, a smile on her face.

**Yoh and Anna**

"Let's go." Anna said, glancing at the map then placing it in her pocket. Yoh grinned and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Okay! Lead the way, Anna-chan!" he chirped happily.

Anna glared at him slightly, not liking the fact that Yoh said this in public, making Yoh laugh nervously. She did nothing else but tried to make a slight blush go away (failing horribly, might I add) and walked towards the direction of their room.

Yon and Anna walked hand in hand (AN: Woah….major OOC-ness…Xp) towards their room, enjoying the feeling of having the other close to them. Once at their room, Yoh slammed the door open and Anna twitched.

"Ehehe…sorry Anna-chan." Yoh said, laughing nervously. Anna twitched again, but a smile tugged on the corner of her lips anyway. Yoh didn't fail to notice and couldn't stop himself from glomping her.

Anna's eyes widened in shock and she froze. "Oh Anna-chan! I'm so glad!" Yoh shouted happily, either not noticing or choosing to ignore that she froze. After a few moments of silence, Anna relaxed finally and sighed, wrapping her arms loosely around Yoh's back, closed her eyes, and resting her head on his chest, taking in his scent.

This only made Yoh's grin even wider and he squeezed her closer to his body, sliding his arms to let them rest on Anna's lower back and burying his face in her hair, breathing deeply with his eyes closed.

He leaned down and breathed in her ear. "You smell really nice, Anna-chan. Like strawberries…" he whispered. Anna blushed and gripped his shirt, then huffed and tried to wriggle free, obviously miffed about the comment.

Yoh noticed and picked her up bridal style to the comfy bed, merely sweatdropping at her threats. He placed her down carefully and lied down beside her.

He pulled her closer and placed the sheets around them, then lied down on his side resting his head on one arm, using the other to hold Anna loosely in place; pressed close to him. He then closed his eyes and kept ignoring her remarks.

After a while, Anna sighed and gave up. 'I really am getting soft…pfft,' she thought glumly. She shrugged and snuggled closer, making Yoh open his eyes. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head. They fell asleep in that position, peaceful smiles evident on both of their faces.

**Ren and Pirika **

Ren's face was the reddest shade of red Pirika had ever seen on a human being. He didn't look like he was going to say something anytime soon, so she looked at the floor and rubbed her arm.

"S-so…um…we should…go find our room, ne?" she asked quietly, not daring to look up. Ren looked up and shrugged, seemingly jerked out off his thoughts. "I guess," he said then promptly walked off to the direction of their room, a slightly frustrated and annoyed Pirika behind him.

Ren was still fuming, this time with an all-too-obvious blush on his face. Pirika was walking quietly beside him, thinking of how to make the best of their time and without bickering nonstop. It was his birthday after all, and the least she could do was be nice to him.

"We're here," Ren said, shaking her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the grand doors and the numbers 1816 carved on a gold plaque, and sweatdropped.

'Of course…you're assigned to sleep with the great Ren Tao. The chances of getting a room like this is 100 percent,' she thought to herself, then blushed and shook her head to get rid of her thoughts.

"Y-yeah…I guess we are," she replied. Ren opened her door and let her in first, remembering his sister's threats (and becoming very annoyed as well – not just because of his sister, but also because he felt like he actually _wanted_ to do nice stuff for Pirika).

Pirika blushed, thanked him, and timidly walked in. Ren just shrugged and entered the room, closing the door behind him.

He couldn't stop a blush from creeping to his face, though. He looked around the room seemingly unimpressed, the complete opposite of Pirika, who was looking around with her mouth agape.

Then both of their gazes fell on the same object and the look their faces were priceless. You could have taken a picture and keep it for a million years, looking at it every minute and still crack up.

It was a mixture of shock, confusion, anger and embarrassment. They didn't want to make the other emotions obvious, so instead they picked the bets one and yelled, simultaneously, so loud it was heard on the other side of the world.

**_"JUN!"_**

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Hehehehe….yeah, I know I haven't updated for the longest time, but what did you guys think? I hope it wasn't too confusing. I wrote 2 versionsof this chapter and kind of mixed them together, so yeah. Review please! . 


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